Postseason History

NCAA Tournament There has always been an obvious incentive to win an Ivy
League championship, but it took on even greater meaning in the
1993-94 season. With the increase of the NCAA Division I
Women’s Basketball Championship field from 48 to 64 teams,
the Ivy League and eight other conferences received an automatic
berth for the first time since its inception.

Harvard has represented the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament
six times, making its latest appearance in 2007. The Crimson has
had the opportunity to play some of the top teams in the country in
Kansas State (2003), Vanderbilt (1996), North Carolina (1997 and
2002) and Maryland (2007), and made NCAA tournament history in 1998
by being the first team — men’s or women’s
— to receive a No. 16 seed in the tournament and knock off a
No. 1 seed. That season, the Crimson shocked Stanford, 71-67,
before falling to Arkansas, 82-64, in the second round.

“The value of going to the NCAA tournament is
enormous,” said head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. “The
experience that our athletes have gained will help them respond to
the daily challenges of being one of the teams to beat in the Ivy
League. The NCAA tournament is a tremendous teaching tool. The
success that brought us to that level gave our kids the confidence
to believe in themselves, and the knowledge that they can compete
with any team in the country.”

It was an NCAA tournament first. Not since the inception of the
64-team field for the women (1993-94) or the men (1984-85) had it
been done, a No. 16 seed knocking off a No. 1 seed in NCAA
tournament play. But on March 14, 1998, in front of a crowd of
5,138 screaming fans, Harvard accomplished what seemed the
impossible. The Crimson, in only its third NCAA tournament
appearance, played the part of the ungracious guest in
Stanford’s Maples Pavilion. Some attributed it to
Stanford’s loss of two key players to injury days prior to
the game. Some said it was due to Stanford mistakes and miscues.
Some recognized the talent and resolve of the Harvard contingent,
led by All-American Allison Feaster ’98, that brought
everything they had to the floor that night and made tournament
history with a 71-67 win.

On April 4, 2006, ESPN chronicled the top moments in NCAA
Women’s Basketball Championship history. The Crimson’s
historic upset of No. 1-seed Stanford was chosen as the No. 6
moment.

Women's National Invitation Tournament
(WNIT)
Harvard made its first WNIT appearance in 2009 with the league's
automatic berth to the tournament after finishing second in the
league standings. The Crimson earned the Ivy League's bid in 2010,
2012 and 2013 as well. In both 2012 and 2013, Harvard advanced to
the second round.